BarcelonaTonight the footballer Dani Alves will sleep in a cell. It will be the first of several nights deprived of freedom, locked up in Brians 1 prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires. The head of the court of inquiry number 15 of Barcelona decreed this Friday provisional prison without bail for Alves, accused of a crime of sexual assault. Two weeks ago, a 23-year-old girl reported him for raping her in the toilets of the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub on December 30. According to the victim’s version, the ex-Barça footballer locked her in the toilet and physically assaulted her, using force to end up penetrating her vaginally without her consent. Alves has denied the facts at all times. First this morning, when the Mossos d’Esquadra arrested him and took his statement. And also in the afternoon, when after a few hours in the dungeons of the City of Justice he testified for about 45 minutes in front of the judge. Alves left the courts the same way he entered: in a police car.
Before him, the victim has declared, which has been ratified in his version of the events. For the judge, Alves has run into contradictions with the girl’s statement, but also with the evidence provided by the police. On the night of the alleged rape, the victim was treated at the Hospital Clínic. They found traces of semen, prints and also marks of possible aggression. All this has been recorded in the police proceedings, where there are also the statements of several witnesses, such as the local security guards, and the images from the video surveillance cameras. All this information leads the judge to conclude that there are indications that Alves raped the girl. Once the hearing was over, the head of the court accepted the provisional prison requests requested by the Prosecutor’s Office and the victim’s defense.
According to sources consulted by ARA, there are other reasons behind the judge’s decision to send the footballer to prison, such as the risk of flight. The magistrate has assessed that Alves is a person with great purchasing power and, therefore, the ability to travel, and that he lives abroad, as he currently plays for Pumas in Mexico. He also has dual Spanish and Brazilian nationality, and there is no extradition agreement with Brazil. In other words, if he had left for his country of origin after testifying, it would be very difficult to bring him back to Spain if he refused. Alves now faces a charge of sexual assault, with penalties ranging from four to 12 years in prison.
Dani Alves leaving the Mossos de les Corts police station. / Peter Virgil
Currently, the footballer plays for Pumas de México, where he hasn’t been training for a few days because he was in Barcelona for personal reasons. According to various Mexican media, the ex-Blaugrana asked the club for permission to go to the funeral of a relative. The Catalan capital was also the destination he chose to spend a few days after the World Cup in Qatar. Alves played for Brazil and fell in the quarter-finals. On the night of December 30, Alves went out partying in Sutton, on Calle Tuset, and here the two versions take opposite paths. The victim details that the footballer invited her to go up to a VIP room, where there is a toilet that can only be used by those in the reservation.
That was the place of the alleged assault, without any security camera recording it. Yes, the before and after is filmed. That is, how they both enter and exit. That night the footballer was with a friend who also testified this Friday. Alves already advanced his version of events in a video: “I was in this place with more people having a good time. Everyone who knows me knows that I like to dance. Having a good time, but not invading the space of others,” he stated. And he also assured that he knew nothing about the girl. This Friday, despite the evidence to the contrary, he denied everything again.
Judicial rhythms
At no time, however, has anyone who was not part of the judicial process been able to see Alves. The player entered the Corts de Barcelona police station by going directly to the car park, and then left in the back of a patrol car in the direction of the City of Justice. The afternoon was spent there in the dungeons, going up and down the elevator to access the viewing room. In fact, the police and judicial rhythms this Friday have been extraordinary. Normally, it takes 72 hours for a detainee to be brought before the court. The footballer did it all in eight hours. Now, the investigation of the case continues and Alves is already in the revenue module of Brians 1 prison.
